A Trip Down Memory Lane: Lisbon, Portugal (2017)
Inspired by a friend posting photos of her trip to Portugal this spring, I’m taking a trip down memory lane to my past travels to Portugal back in 2017.
I haven’t travelled much in Europe and based on the few destinations that I had visited, Portugal is still one of my favourites. In 2017, when I mentioned to family and friends about my plans to travel in Portugal, many of them asked, “Oh, why Portugal? Why not Spain?”, “Why spend so many days travelling in Portugal? Will you be going to Spain as well?”
I had considered Spain at the time. After all, I had studied Spanish for a year and a half at uni in Australia, lol! But for some strange reasons, I had chosen to travel 10 days in Portugal instead and made my way to Ireland after that. As for Spain – otra vez (another time).
I had written a number of posts about this trip in my old blog but that blog is now defunct. So, here are snippets of my best memories of Portugal.
Note: This trip was in 2017, so some places might have shut down, new ones have opened, or opening hours might have changed, therefore please do your own research for the latest info.
Downtown Lisbon
I started my exploration of Portugal’s capital city, Lisbon in downtown Baixa District. First stop was Praça do Comércio – a large, open square facing the Tagus River.
From the plaza, I headed towards Castelo de São Jorge situated on a hill. As I was finding my way to the castle, I walked along Lisbon’s charming maze of narrow streets and historic neighbourhoods with the city’s famous yellow trams chugging past by me.
Belém
The next day, I visited Belém, a district in West Lisbon and home to the Jerónimos Monastery, Padrão dos Descobrimentos and Belem Tower.
Jerónimos Monastery, once home to the Order of St. Jerome, played a significant role in the era of Portuguese maritime exploration. It served as the departure point for many voyages during the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, including that of Vasco da Gama. During this time, Portuguese explorers charted the coastlines of Africa, Asia, and the West Indies. The monastery provided a spiritual refuge—offering prayers for sailors before their departure and comfort upon their return.
Along the Tagus river bank is the Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument of the Discoveries), a monument that honours the Age of Discovery then. At the base of the monument lies a mosaic map highlighting the routes taken by Portuguese explorers. One section of the map features India, Ceilao (Ceylon/Sri Lanka) and Malaca (Malacca/Melaka – my hometown in Malaysia!).
Close to the monument is Belém Tower, another attraction in the area, but I didn’t go inside the tower as there were very long queues at that time.
When in Belém, don’t forget to try the pasteis de nata – Portuguese custard egg tart. I don’t know about now but back then, I was told Pasteis de Belém Café was the best in Lisbon and that it got very crowded quickly. So, what I did was have pasteis de nata for breakfast at the café, then explored the monastery and the monument at my own pace.
Sintra
There are a couple of places outside of Lisbon that you could easily explore as a day trip from the capital city. One of them is Sintra, a town situated 28km away from Lisbon (approximately 30 mins’ drive).
Sintra is known for their 19th century palaces and villas, and the common sights that tourists visit are the Pena Palace, National Palace of Sintra and Castelo dos Mouros, just to mention a few. I explored only Pena Palace and National Palace of Sintra, and after that, I walked around the town for lunch and pastries!
I was staying with a friend in Lisbon, and she and her family joined me on this excursion to Sintra. On the way back to Lisbon, we stopped by at Cascais, a popular seaside resort and one of the wealthiest municipalities in Portugal. We didn’t stay too long in Cascais though – we took a stroll by the beach, had ice-cream and browsed at a flea market nearby.
I stayed in Lisbon for four nights. After that, I moved on and travelled by train to Coimbra, a university town, and explored the pilgrimage site, Fátima. More on that in the next post!
Have you been to Lisbon? What were some of your best memories of Lisbon? Do share in the comments below!
